Department stores continues to play only a minor role in retailing in Austria in 2021 with most consumers favouring shopping centres instead. Steffl in Vienna and Kastner & Öhler Warenhaus’ flagship store in Graz remain the only department stores in the country, being the only such outlets that meet the narrow category definition (mostly to do with selling space and product mix).
Department stores will see a significant recovery in 2021 after a strong drop in 2020. The first year of the pandemic had a strongly negative impact on sales via department stores due to consumers avoiding (or being prohibited from) visiting large public spaces and reducing their expenditure on non-essential items, such as apparel and footwear.
In spring 2020, Steffl launched its first online store. This was during the first pandemic-related set of store closures, and, despite its provisional nature, the online store experienced relative success.
In 2021, construction work started at the Mariahilferstraße in Vienna (a highly frequented city centre location) to replace Signa Retail GmbH Leiner furniture store with a new department store. This department store would also be owned by Signa Retail and is anticipated to be in the style of its Berlin brand – KaDeWe.
Excluding the new planned opening of Signa Retail’s department store in Vienna, the forecast period category sales are expected to be driven by the return of international travellers and the ever-rising interest of city-tourism in Austria. Given the limited competitive landscape, growth will be driven by the two (and soon three flagship stores) in the country and the unique shopping experience they offer.
It is possible that Kastner & Öhler could be responsible for another new department store opening in the forecast period. The company has historically had its focus on the Southern and Eastern regions of the country but has run several nationwide campaigns in the past few years to improve the brand’s nationwide popularity, especially in support of its online store.
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Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Department Stores industry in Austria with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
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Outlets selling mainly non-grocery merchandise and at least five lines in different departments, usually with a sales area of over 2,500 sq metres and arranged over several floors. Example brands include Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Marks & Spencer, Harrods, Sears, JC Penney, Takashimaya, Mitsukoshi, Daimaru, Karstadt, Rinascente.
See All of Our DefinitionsThis report originates from Passport, our Department Stores research and analysis database.
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